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The US has a total expenditure of over 700 billion dollars for public schools. (NCES) Yet, the citizens still need to spend 16,268 dollars a year to educate a student (from primary through tertiary education). Many can say that an investment in education pays the best interest but is it actually reasonable? In fact, the US scores lower than average in the most well-known international student assessment test, Pisa. (The Guardian). The US education system creates a paradox that is hard to change. However, specific economic policies can possibly improve the quality of education without putting a strain on the economy.
As the college admissions process becomes more competitive every year, many families in the US hire an independent counselor to guide students in high school or even middle school. These students often receive private tutoring, allowing them to get higher scores on standardized tests and have a better GPA. However, students from disadvantaged backgrounds typically do not have access to extra tutoring and attend schools with low funding. In fact, this is also reflected in the standardized test scores: Students from families who make more than 200,000 dollars score 29% higher than students from families earning less than 20,000 dollars. (CNBC) Although many colleges have a test-optional policy after the covid pandemic, GPA also has a direct correlation with family income: low-income students are 9 times more likely to have a GPA below 2.5. (Niche) Then, what is the solution? Well, the US government tried to financially ensure equality of opportunity for students on a few occasions. “No Child Left Behind” act was one of the more notable attempts to support financial equality among students during the presidency of George Bush. However, the provision of federal aid was dependent on the test scores received by students in a specific school. The aid was reduced in schools that scored poorly on the tests. Again, the incentive of the act was correct but the execution favored the students with advantaged backgrounds and school districts. Ensuring equality of opportunity in education, I believe that the government spending per pupil should stay the same for schools that score higher than average. However, increasing funding for schools with low-scoring students should also be considered in order to provide additional tutoring and individualized learning opportunities. This would also narrow the class gap while allowing low-income students to access more resources. The additional aid should continue for schools that show an improvement in test scores over time, indicating that there is progress in the level of learning.
Furthermore, the high school graduation rate in the US is approximately 88% while only 65% of these students enroll in college. (Statista) Although it is difficult to identify the specific causes, financial issues might be the most obvious ones. In a survey conducted in 2019, the following results were obtained:
Featured graph source: Niche, 2020
Many students from different backgrounds think that they are ready for college and also believe that colleges will prepare them for success. However, nearly 60% of the students are concerned about not being able to afford their chosen institution. (Niche) In fact, tuition for public colleges nearly quadrupled in the last 40 years. Adjusting for inflation, tuition in public colleges increased by 216% in the same time period. Nearly 80% of students in the US attend public colleges showing that there is room for improvement when it comes to government funding. The state and federal governments are not willing to increase funds for higher education meanwhile 768 billion dollars are allocated for the military. In fact, excessive military spending can change and allow non-military funds to increase. According to The Century Foundation (TCF), approximately 150 billion dollars are required to reduce the achievement gap for students with disadvantaged backgrounds and provide affordable college tuition. This would only cause a 20% decrease in military spending while significantly increasing the quality of education and eliminating financial obstacles for low-income students. Ideally, the financial need of all students can be met with no additional loans in the future.
In conclusion, economic policies that ensure equal opportunity for each student can only be achieved through reasonable federal budget management. Effective distribution of this fund can narrow the achievement gap between schools and students. The US government should consider childhood poverty as a national security threat to the future society.
Works Cited:
“Closing America's Education Funding Gaps.” The Century Foundation, 22 July 2020, https://tcf.org/content/report/closing-americas-education-funding/.
Duffin, Erin. “Educational Attainment in the U.S. 1960-2020.” Statista, 29 July 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/184260/educational-attainment-in-the-us/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20about%2037.5%20percent,population%20had%20graduated%20from%20college.
Hess, Abigail J. “Rich Students Get Better SAT Scores.” CNBC, 3 Oct. 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/03/rich-students-get-better-sat-scores-heres-why.html.
“The NCES (National Center for Education Statistics).” National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) , a Part of the U.S. Department of Education, https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66#:~:text=Question%3A,constant%202019%E2%80%9320%20dollars).
Patch, Will. “Serving Low Income Students: Insights from the 2019 Niche College Applicant Survey of Student Confidence and Concerns.” Niche, 11 Apr. 2022, https://www.niche.com/about/enrollment-insights/serving-low-income-students-insights-from-the-2019-niche-college-applicant-survey-of-student-confidence-and-concerns/#:~:text=Low%20income%20students%20were%20half,a%20GPA%20below%20a%202.5.
Rushe, Dominic. “The US Spends More on Education than Other Countries. Why Is It Falling behind?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 Sept. 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/07/us-education-spending-finland-south-korea.